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Howdy!
As some of you may know, my family is involved in the National Bible Bee. One of my brothers and I qualified for the National competition again this year so we’re heading down to San Antonio Texas in 2 weeks to compete!! (prayers soooo very much appreciated if you think of it – wink wink) 😀 The National Bible Bee always offers Family Photography at the location, but this year they decided to cancel it because they have to hire photographers, and they want to lower their expenses and there wasn’t a big riot in the streets when they announced the news. 😀 One of the moderators and I are going to be offering free family photography. So, long story short, what are y’all’s tips on arranging people quickly family after family? I really enjoy that part, but I’ve only experienced the side of family photography where you have about an hour to arrange them and rearrange them and arrange them again and take pictures in between. 😀 Also, I am looking for a lens to rent for the event. One of the photographers at church recommended the Sigma Art series lens for Canon, but since I’m going to be gone for 10 days, it’s going to be over $100 and I don’t want to spend more than $50. Do you have any recommendations? I don’t want to get one that’s really cheap in the way it works, because I already have one. XD 😀
Thanks!
KinaFriday is Black Friday, and Monday is Cyber Monday, you can get some really great deals! I have two friends that are going to National Bible Bee!
@jinnyschober thank you 😊 I’m keeping that in mind. No way!! Who are they?!
Josh and Anna Hooper from Louisiana. They go to my church! 🙂 I actually did the summer study with them, but didn’t make it to nationals. 🙁
@jinnyschober Yes! Yes!! I know them!!! 😀 😀 😀 How neat!!!! 😀 😀
Aww, I know the feeling. It took me 5 years to qualify. If you ask anybody in the competition for tips, though, they’ll readily give them to you. That’s what I did. 😀 Qualifying is not as scary and overwhelming as it looks. 😀 I encourage you to try really hard next year, and keep memorizing during the winter and spring so that it’ll be easier to memorize when the summer comes. 😀 Nats is worth it!!
I researched camera stores in San Antonio and I might be renting a lens for the day. I found a good deal. 😀
@kina… real quick, and in no particular order of importance.
9 tips off the top of my head:
1. Have everyone close their eyes. You count to three, say “open!”, and take the shot. That way everyone’s looking at you and nobody’s blinking.
2. Idea: have the parents sit on two chairs in the middle, and have all the kids go around them. If they have tall kids, put them in the back, if they have small kids, put ’em on the front and sides, and if they have babies, they can hold them.
3. When giving directions, point where you want people to go. Don’t say “left” or “right.” I think asking everyone to make sure they can see the camera helps sometimes too for that initial setup.
4. Take a quick moment and make sure everyone’s face is fully visible for the camera. (I missed this once for a family photo! There was a partial eclipse going on of someone’s face!)
5. Ideally, set up a “studio”: have everyone come to you, instead of you hunting them down and following them around trying to gather everyone.
6. Take bursts of photos (continuous drive mode ON)!
7. Take your nice shot with everyone smiling, and then take a goofy shot (“okay, everyone act crazy!”)
8. Keep your aperture narrow enough to keep everyone in focus.
9. Keep your shutter speed fast enough to freeze little kids and babies.
Good luck, and happy Bible Beeing! (I did it once a long time ago—I think I utterly failed the Scripture memorization… but I believe I did better with the trivia.)
Hey @kina, sounds like a great opportunity! Are you planning on doing pictures of the full family only, or are you doing different combos as well (siblings, mom/daughters, dad/sons, dad/daughters, etc.)?
Here are some random thoughts… things I did that helped me move quickly through recent photo mini-sessions I did:
1. Plan ahead
– I read and re-read and read again 30 Tips for Perfect Family Photos – it was super helpful and I was able to arrange everyone quickly because of the principles in that e-book.
– Know how many pictures you’re trying to end up with. In my case I had promised 5 pics to each family. I took many more than that, but that was the goal in mind.
– Know exactly how much time you have. Pace yourself accordingly as you conduct the shoot.
– Have a plan for what types of pics you’re going for. For me, I was doing different combos, so that may have looked like: 1- Family 2- Siblings 3- Dad/sons 4- Mom/daughters 5- Dad & Mom2. Communicate
– Know what they’re looking for. Obviously you want to take pictures they want, not just what you want. 😀 Example from my experience: One mom just wanted a group shot of her 4 kids, and then individual shots. There’s my five. Another family wanted everything! Full family, mom/daughter, mom/son, dad/daughter, dad/son, siblings, etc. That was more than five, but that was fine. That was up to them. Other people said whatever pictures I wanted to take was fine.3. Keep it simple.
I had some metal tubs of various sizes and some wooden stools that I used for them to sit on. I had brought tons of props with me, but I ended up not using any of those things… it just wasn’t necessary for what we were doing and it saved me on time.4. Help is great!
I had one of my sisters helping me, so she was able to help get kids to smile, bring a tub over for someone to sit on, hold a baby when the dad and mom were getting their picture taken, and more! It was great.Lastly, what @loganlamar said is VERY excellent and important
5. Ideally, set up a “studio”: have everyone come to you, instead of you hunting them down and following them around trying to gather everyone.
Also, I’d add to what he said with
7. Take your nice shot with everyone smiling, and then take a goofy shot (“okay, everyone act crazy!”)
I like to take a nice one and then have everyone look at each other (“everyone look at each other like you like each other!”); if I needed another nice one (“now everyone look at me like you like me!”).
Enjoy your time!
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